Mum and son

UK personal debt in the first half of 2019

Download 2019 Mid-Year Update

2019 Statistics Mid-Year Update

Between January and June 2019, we experienced our busiest ever start to the year. Across the first six months 331,337 new clients across the UK contacted us for help with their debt problems

Our Statistics Mid-Year Update takes an in-depth look at the latest personal and household debt trends for the first half of 2019.

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Download the Excel dataset

Read our press release

Read our blogpost

We’ve had our busiest ever start to a year

In the first six months of 2019, 331,337 new clients from across the UK contacted us for help with their debts. That’s one new client every 48 seconds.

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Our clients aren't just affected by debt

Between January and June 2019, 43% of clients were identified as having an additional vulnerability on top of their financial difficulty, including physical health issues, learning disabilities, hearing difficulties, or sight loss.

31% of new clients have council tax arrears

The proportion of new client with council tax arrears has increased

In the first half of 2019, 31% of new clients who had responsibility for a council tax bill were in arrears. This is the first time this proportion has increased since 2015.

council tax arrears

The proportion of new clients who are single parents is rising

A quarter of new clients (24%) are single parents, a proportion which has been steadily rising over the past few years. More than 85% of our single parent clients are female.

24% of new clients are single parents

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The proportion of new clients with a credit card debt is rising

Almost seven in ten (68%) new clients have at least one credit card debt at the time of advice, with an average amount of £7,452. You can find more on our high interest credit card research in our Red Card report.

68% of new clients have at least one credit card debt at the time of advice